Kañiwa & Coconut Pancakes

It’s done. We have booked our plane tickets to USA, we leave two months from now. It feels great knowing for sure that our trip together really will happen. First stop New York. Five days later we hit San Francisco. And after a while there we will drive south, meeting a couple of fellow bloggers on the way. We are so grateful for all your comments about what to see and where to go, and we will try to look up as many of your tips as possible. After 90 days in California we still don’t have a clue where to go to next. But when we know you know.

With America on our minds we made pancakes. Even if these look a little bit similar to traditional american pancakes with lots of syrup, sugar, butter and flour – they are not anything close to it. Our version is completely flour and sugar free. Instead these pancakes contain Kañiwa, a peruvian grain similar to quinoa – but with a higher protein level. Totally nutritious and gluten free. And what might look like maple syrup is actually natural fruit syrup from cherries and prunes.

We don’t need to write that pancakes are yummy, you all know that already. So let’s eat.

Mash the bananas with a fork and mix in a bowl together with all the other ingredients.Or, pour eggs, bananas, coconut milk and spices in a blender. Blend for about a minute. Add the kañiwa and the coconut flakes and stir around.
Fry the pancakes on both sides in coconut oil on medium heat. Serve with a spoonful of Chunky Cherry & Prune Syrup.

Chop the fruit in quite small pieces and throw them in a bowl. Squeeze the lemon juice over the fruit and add agave syrup and cloves. Stir it all around with a spoon, you can mash it a little bit to help release the fruit juices. Cover the bowl with plastic and put in the fridge for a couple of hours.

45 Comments

My wee one is allergic to eggs (gluten and garlic)! How sad for our pancake making endeavors! Gluten-free vegan food definitely makes cooking interesting. I wonder when we’ll start seeing Kañiwa in the health food stores here? It sounds exciting. These pancakes look delicious! We’ll hurry and try out the syrup. Hooray for getting tickets to the US!

can’t wait to meet you guys. and just so you know you are welcome to spend thanksgiving (food feast like no other) with us. we spend it with my husband’s grandma who is 96 years old and her 10 children and their children and spouses and as many friends as possible.

Wow, these look so delicious! I will definitely be keeping my eyes open for them. I’ve been making pancakes from fermented oats – healthy but pretty boring (I spice it up with a lot of cinnamon)…yours sounds much better!

Hi Zita! We made quite a big batch of these pancakes; hence the amount of eggs. If you want to make a smaller batch you can just use half of all the ingredients.
If you want to make a little simpler version of these pancakes you can try this recipe instead.
/David

OH, kañiwa has been on my must-find list for a while, so fun to see it in a recipe! These look wonderful, I must try them. I recently found out I tolerate duck eggs – hooray! – so I’m re-exploring the wonderful world of eggs again. Glorious! Enjoy your travels through the US, how wonderful and exciting. California is wonderful. If you find yourself anywhere near Minnesota (unlikely, but you never know…), drop me a line! ;) Kim | http://www.affairsofliving.com | @eatingfreely

Hi Kim, hooray for being able to cook with eggs! It must be a wonderful feeling to suddenly have access to a zillion recipes that were impossible before.
Thanks for the invitation! We haven’t planned to see Minnesota, but you never know…
/David

I have been searching on the internet hoping to get some ideas on the way to get our website coded, your overall design and style and design are great. Did you actually code it yourself or did you employ a coder to get it done to suit your needs?

I am sooo excited to see this post! My boyfriend is gluten-intolerant which means I can’t indulge in flour-y goodness without the guilt! I will definitely be trying this recipe this weekend :) Also, I am very glad to see that the grain has more protein then quinoa, I am always trying to find a way to cut down the CHO and add more protein in my diet.
p.s. as a Californian, I can safely say you will LOVE it! Enjoy your trip!

These look wonderful! How would you describe the taste of kañiwa? does it have the same nutty qualities as quinoa? I will have to keep my eye out for some, I have not heard of this grain (or is it a seed?) before!

Hi Jenn, Kañiwa tastes quite similar as quinoa. One advantage with kañiwa is that it doesn’t contain any saponins (quinoa does), which gives it a less bitter taste. And I think it classifies as a grain :)
/David

Hi Alexis, we haven’t really planned what to see in NYC yet. We are grateful for all the suggestions we can get. Radiance Tea House looks wonderful. Feel free to e-mail us if you have any other favorites.
Thanks!
/David

Hi Maria.
You can find Kaniwa in local health stores, in Stockholm they sell it at Gryningen. We have also found it in the health section of large supermarkets. Kaniwa is very similar to Quinoa, so you can also use that. We have found Agave syrup both at Coop and Ica Supermarket. Hope you find it.
/Luise

I just found your gorgeous blog and can’t wait to make these! I saw that you are/were heading to the US. If the trip is still in the future, I’d highly recommend seeing Portland, Oregon. The most green and beautiful place I’ve seen in the US. So many fun activities. Somewhat similar to Sweden…I’ve dreamed of living in Sweden since I visited several years ago. Thank you for your wonderful blog. Keep up the great work!

Hello — I am looking forward to making this recipe, and am wondering if it is possible to use coconut flour rather than coconut flakes? I just bought a bag of the flour and would like to experiment; I know it requires using a lot of eggs (or liquid), and this recipe seems to fit that requirement perfectly. Thanks in advance!

I’m new here and like your blog very much. but was disappointed in the recipe for pancakes. I used amaranth grain instead since I had it on hand but for some reason the batter was very thin and would not “make” a pancake. It just wouldn’t hold up. I did cook the grain as specified in the directions and then added to the rest of the ingredients. Anyhow, I ended up adding whole wheat flour to thicken it a little and they turned out fine. Very nice flavor. Maybe you could help me figure out what went wrong. Thanks!
Lil Rinaldi

I had the same problem as Lil! I’ve tried to make them by the recipe twice now and each time I have to add some kind of flour, because they just wont stick together! When I try to flip them on the skillet it just creates a mess! I love the flavor as well, could you give me some tips on how to make them work?
Thanks!
Liz

Many thanks for this fantastic recipe, I am a Peruvian living in Norway and OMG this is such a great way to enjoy the nutritious Andean grains from my dear country! Booked for this Sunday’s brunch and I will also recommend it in my blog. Have a wonderful day!

The flavour of this recipe is just divine! However, I tried to make pancakes out of this batter (I used quinoa instead of kañiwa) but the ingredients just didn’t come together. You need to either add some flour or used the batter for a smoothie (and leave the eggs out if you’re afraid to catch salmonela).

Hey hey hey those pancakes look D-I-V-I-N-E!
Wished we had cherries and prune season right now but I sure am looking forward to try those pancakes at least!
I don’t have any kaniwa but I have some amaranth in my cardboard, with which I wanted to experiment!
Yet I do have one little question before I can try this recipe
Is the 1 cup of kaniwa raw or already cooked?
Because if I would cook 1 cup of amarant, I’d end up with 3(!) cups of them because the package always suggests to cook them with three times the water ratio.
Would you be so kind to help? Thanks!

Hello, I just started making these pancakes in the batter was so thin. I figured that must not be correct. The recipe needs to be restated so that it is more clear. This actually needs two Full cups of cooked Full cups of cooked kaniwa